earnest

from The Century Dictionary.

• To be serious with; use in earnest.
• Serious in speech or action; eager; urgent; importunate; pressing; instant: as, earnest in prayer.
• Possessing or characterized by seriousness in seeking, doing, etc.; strongly bent; intent: as, an earnest disposition.
• Strenuous; diligent: as, earnest efforts.
• Serious; weighty; of a serious, important, or weighty nature; not trifling or feigned.
• noun Gravity; serious purpose; earnestness.
• noun Seriousness; reality; actuality, as opposed to jesting or feigned appearance.
• noun A portion of something given or done in advance as a pledge; security in kind; specifically, in law, a part of the price of goods or service bargained for, which is paid at the time of the bargain to evidence the fact that the negotiation has ended in an actual contract.
• noun Anything that gives pledge, promise, assurance, or indication of what is to follow; first-fruits.
• noun Synonyms Earnest, Pledge. Earnest, like pledge, is security given for the doing of something definite in the future, and generally returned when the conditions of the contract have been fulfilled. In 2 Cor. i. 22 and v. 5 we read that the Spirit is given as the earnest of indefinite future favors from God; in Blackstone we find “a penny, or any portion of the goods delivered as earnest.” Whether literal or figurative, earnest is always a pledge in kind, a part paid or given in warrant that more of the same kiud, is forthcoming; as in “Macbeth,” i. 3, Macbeth is hailed thane of Cawdor “for an earnest of a greater honor.” See also “Cymbeline,” i. 6. Pledge is often used figuratively for that which seems promised or indicated by the actions of the present, earnest being preferred for that which is of the same nature with the thing promised, and pledge for that which is materially different.
• To serve as an earnest or a pledge of.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb rare To use in earnest.
• noun Something given, or a part paid beforehand, as a pledge; pledge; handsel; a token of what is to come.
• noun (Law) Something of value given by the buyer to the seller, by way of token or pledge, to bind the bargain and prove the sale.
• noun (Law) money paid as earnest, to bind a bargain or to ratify and prove a sale.
• adjective Ardent in the pursuit of an object; eager to obtain or do; zealous with sincerity; with hearty endeavor; heartfelt; fervent; hearty; -- used in a good sense.
• adjective Intent; fixed closely.
• adjective obsolete Serious; important.
• noun Seriousness; reality; fixed determination; eagerness; intentness.
• noun serious; seriously; not in jest; earnestly.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun Gravity; serious purpose; earnestness.
• noun Seriousness; reality; actuality (as opposed to jesting or feigned appearance); fixed determination; eagerness; intentness.
• verb transitive To be serious with; use in earnest.
• noun A sum of money paid in advance as a deposit; hence, a pledge, a guarantee, an indication of something to come.
• adjective Serious in speech or action; eager; urgent; importunate; pressing; instant.
• adjective Ardent in the pursuit of an object; eager to obtain or do; zealous with sincerity; with hearty endeavour; heartfelt; fervent; hearty; — used in a good sense; as, earnest prayers.
• adjective Intent; fixed closely; as, earnest attention.
• adjective Possessing or characterised by seriousness; strongly bent; intent.
• adjective Strenuous; diligent.
• adjective Serious; weighty; of a serious, weighty, or important nature; not trifling or feigned; important.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• adjective earnest
• noun something of value given by one person to another to bind a contract
• adjective characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions
• adjective not distracted by anything unrelated to the goal